Creatine Myths: Hair Loss, Bloating, Dosing, and More (Episode 117)

Does creatine cause hair loss? What about bloating? In this episode, Greg and Lyndsey bust myths and misconceptions about creatine, one of the most popular supplements on the market. Greg also explains how creatine actually works to increase muscle growth and discusses myths related to creatine dosing (is 5g per day enough?). Then, they play a few listener calls about creatine and answer questions about creatine's impact on individual genetic potential for muscularity, different forms of creatine, and the interaction between caffeine and creatine.

*TIME STAMPS, SOURCES, AND LINKS*

0:00: Intro

3:23: What’s on your mind: Love Island

8:30: Plugs

10:49: Creatine Introduction

17:56: History of Creatine

38:39: Creatine and hair loss introduction

40:48: Background information on DHT

44:35: Discussion of the study everyone cites to support the idea that creatine causes hair loss

54:21: The key thing everyone misses when discussing the creatine/DHT study

1:04:09: Potential physiological explanations for increased scalp DHT production and hair loss

Obesity/metabolic syndrome:

1:29:40: Known effects of creatine on the actual causes of hair loss

1:38:00: Why do so many people think that creatine causes hair loss in the first place?

1:48:31: How creatine actually works to increase muscle growth

2:04:01: The idea that creatine doesn’t actually cause bloating is probably incorrect

2:15:34 – Myth related to creatine dosing

2:38:01: Question 1: does creatine raise the limits of muscularity that you can achieve, or does it just lead to slightly faster progress toward the same limit?

2:40:28: Question 2: is it worth experimenting with other forms of creatine?

2:46:51: Question 3: do caffeine and creatine have inhibitory effects on each other?

[jamesk]

When Greg said we should not expect another episode like the Aspartame one again I’m assuming he means the next one will be double the length? Thanks Greg!

[archmaesterofpullups]

I just gotta say that these last two episodes have been phenomenal.

[benshulman]

Such a helpful discussion, thank you!

[gerym]

Dear co-hosts, thank you for another great episode!

[Yupppi]

This is like long version summary of watching Iron Culture Podcast. I knew these things from their episodes with Dr. Darren Candow, so it's nice to see them shared with Stronger By Science audience as well. I feel like Lyndsey brings another level to the show in terms of not being phd in the subject so Greg has to explain things the way that she and the audience surely understands, but now he also has someone to mirror what he's saying in real time on the show. Or to even consider it on the go that the explanation has to go through to Lyndsey before explaining it. Which helps the output.

Question: if you're eating cooked meat, how much do you have to eat to get 3-5 grams of creatine per day? I was under the impression that it's roughly 1 kg of raw meat. Not cooked. And 1 kg sounds a lot of meat per day to me. Especially since I eat 0 grams of raw meat a day.

Dr. Candow has been testing relative dose in his studies based on the theory that the bigger you are, the more muscle you have and potentially more creatine doorways, so they are trying 0, 1 grams per kg of bodyweight. But he still suggest the literature's numbers that 2-3 grams per day is great for maintenance dose for pretty much everybody. Which essentially seems to be more accurate to most body sizes from what you informed about the studies (maybe the 3-5 grams).

Supposedly the monohydrate is also the best version of creatine, due to it being in the same form as the body prefers to use it, the others being inferior in effectiveness to weight and price. But might be more pleasant effect in some way.

Personally I chose to take creatine with after workout whey shake, because coffee is the only hot drink I'm drinking and otherwise creatine in liquid is like drinking sand, awful texture. Also I decided I didn't want to take it with caffeine, because I considered going to emergency reception when I first started taking creatine and I took it right after coffee. Caveat being, I have IBS and I'm thinking I already had irritated intestines and the coffee aggravated it. But there was definitely either strong placebo effect or intense effect on creatine, because that first day my muscles felt pumped and sore and odd. And GI track definitely didn't feel fun in the way that makes you smile. Haven't had that GI track distress since that first day though, or at least it toned down on the second/third day and hasn't come back even if I've missed a week or two of taking creatine and then started again. It was doubly weird because I assumed starting and taking creatine will be massively unimpressive event that you won't notice consuming or at the gym. Turns out I definitely noticed the pumps and increased performance, but the first day was also something I won't forget.


Also you said there won't be another aspartame episode, but halfway through this and listening to balding biochemistry, he mentioned creatine somewhere and I woke up realizing this was an episode about creatine.

[bullinvginshop]

I put my wife on creatine and she noticeably increased the amount of hair she was shedding. I didn’t tell her it was a possibility. She takes supplements to retain and regrow hair because her hair had begun to thin and fall out more. It was under control and shedding much less. Adding creatine increased her fall out. So I took her off of it obvi.

[ew-zdth]

Does creatin make you respond better to the Hypertrophy training? Or does the effect from lower myostatin and the nuclei thing just unindepent from training and build muscle by itself?

[robertogrunpetercorrea]

Greg, the bloodflow theory was debunked decades ago. The lack of hair follicles is what is lowering the blood flow to the scalp, rather than low blood supply decreasing the number of hair follicles. DHT destroys hair follicles and sets off a chain of events that also destroy the capillaries that feed them, finally being replaced by scar tissue. Therefore, low blood supply is a consequence of allogenic alopecia, not a cause. This explain why hairs transplanted to balding areas thrive and grow, proving that circulation in balding areas is no different than other areas of the scalp.

[ew-zdth]

I never see anything from creatin. No more strenght no more weight. I testet in it even with loading phases. I testet it high caloric bulks because i have high maintaince kcal. What can i do ? Why i dont respond? Or does this even mean that i am not Respond? Because of the other myostation or this nuclei effect i dont think that you can feel or see this process im the beginning

[romankoller]

Wait a minute. Greg, what happened to the monthly "You can't believe what my wife did" segment?

[thrashwerk]

02:17:00 I've definitely heard local BS a few times of 5g per 30kg of body mass. For me that would mean I'd need to take 15g daily, some guys 20g. Sounds like it'd be easier to just dump half the tub in the toilet if you want to waste creatine.

[MarcRitzMD]

HELLO EVERYONE! FELLOW YOUTUBIANS. WE DON'T MATTER ACCORDING TO Greg Knuckles! He doesn't think we deserve attention or special treatment because we are sooOOoooo few. We don't hit a viewer number threshold that could get him hard enough to implement time-stamps.

[jamesbrady]

More lies from big creatine funded SBS-Pod. Any guess how the host afford such discrete hair-systems (wigs)?